Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens Thread

[nevets88]

People are predicting ~ 200m, 250m, 300m for the opening weekend. Analysts I think somewhere around 225m? There's already 50m in advance sales. I don't think if you're accounting for total domestic take, the opening will have a big influence. If the movie is somewhere between good and great, it's going to have long legs. That percentage drop-off in receipts in the coming weeks will be small. 

It will be fun reading the post-game reviews and social media in the coming weeks. This movie is going to be analyzed to death. 

[nevets88]

I peeked at the review headlines and it looks good. Lots of gushing, some tempered statements. Rotten Tomatoes - 97%, Metacritic - 83. I got a little mini-minor spoiler from one headline, but the spoiler was something lots of people speculated anyway. Those browser extensions that block spoilers don't work that well, too sensitive, so just gonna "analog"/preemptively block them la la la la la. If someone says anything within earshot of me, I'm gonna punch them in the face. 

 

[nevets88]

This is just end to end awesome sauce.

Jimmy Fallon, The Roots & "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" Cast Sing "Star Wars" Medley (A Cappella)

 

[nevets88]

A zero, nil, nada, zippo, zilch spoilers review of The Force Awakens.

Quote

Without giving too much away, I will say The Force Awakens actually feels like Star Wars again, more so than any film since 1983. From the bickering back and forth of the characters — John Boyega and Daisy Ridley have a wonderful dynamic, ping ponging off one another in ways that feel both warmly familiar and surprising — to the measured use of familiar faces like Chewbacca, C-3PO, and yes, Han Solo and Princess Leia, The Force Awakens understands how audiences originally connected with Lucas’ films. If the prequels felt like a grab bag of ham-fisted shout-outs with shoehorned origin stories, Abrams’ film simply sets up shop in the middle of a long, ongoing narrative and tells its little piece. Despite the large scale, the approach feels small, almost humble — and it’s precisely how the original Star Wars worked when it opened in 1977.

http://www.theverge.com/2015/12/16/10243884/star-wars-the-force-awakens-review

[Pretzel]

3 hours ago, nevets88 said:

A zero, nil, nada, zippo, zilch spoilers review of The Force Awakens.

http://www.theverge.com/2015/12/16/10243884/star-wars-the-force-awakens-review

Thanks for posting this. I'm too scared to look at anything Star Wars for fear of having the plot spoiled when there is only one more day until I go to see it in theaters. Most of the time I don't care about stuff being spoiled, but this is different for me.

[mvmac]

All of the reviews I've seen so have been very positive, so that's great to see.

[iacas]

50 minutes ago, Pretzel said:

Thanks for posting this. I'm too scared to look at anything Star Wars for fear of having the plot spoiled when there is only one more day until I go to see it in theaters. Most of the time I don't care about stuff being spoiled, but this is different for me.

I was attending Apple's WWDC back in… 2000? 2001? Something like that.

My friends were talking about Star Trek or Star Wars or something, and I commented that I didn't really care about either of them very much (though I disliked Star Trek while I was ambivalent about Star Wars).

My friend Jeff said "yeah, but Erik, you're like a weird geek. You date women, you play sports, and you don't care about Star Trek or Wars."

So… long way of saying, I don't care if I see a spoiler or not. I might even seek some out so that I know who is who again. I don't remember the last time I watched a Star Wars movie.

I know, puts me in the minority…

[nevets88]

I've been a casual fan until recently, don't own any toys, just digital copies of the movies. I guess because I like JJ Abrams' movies and he started off Lost and the prospect of seeing this 30 year old saga continued w/all the benefits of today's technology plus the nostalgia aspect, I'm following it closely.

I remember watching Battlestar Galactica, the original series. It was terrible and campy and one of the many tv series capitalizing on Star Wars' coattails. The special effects were terrible. Then the Scifi channel rebooted it, with realistic spaceship and battle scenes and good actors and good writing just totally blew me away - this is kind of the same thing.

Plus genre fiction writing for tv and movies has really improved by leaps and bounds. It's not b grade material and b list actors anymore.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, TFA has already made $100m in advance ticket sales. 

Quote

Year-end holiday advance ticket sales for J.J. Abrams' Star Wars: The Force Awakens have crossed $100 million in North America, an unheard-of number, sources tell The Hollywood Reporter. 

That includes $50 million to $60 million in advance ticket sales for the film's opening weekend. Force Awakens, which held its world premiere Monday night in Los Angeles, begins rolling out Thursday night before playing everywhere Friday morning.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/star-wars-force-awakens-advance-849156

 

[jbishop15]

I've got tickets for a 9 AM IMAX showing on Friday for my dad and I. The only site that I've been visiting since Monday is this one, because it's the only one that I know won't spoil the movie for me, lol

That being said, starting tomorrow, I'll be essentially off the internet until around 12 PM Friday afternoon. I am too hyped for this movie to get spoiled now! 

[GolfLug]

2 hours ago, iacas said:

I was attending Apple's WWDC back in… 2000? 2001? Something like that.

My friends were talking about Star Trek or Star Wars or something, and I commented that I didn't really care about either of them very much (though I disliked Star Trek while I was ambivalent about Star Wars).

My friend Jeff said "yeah, but Erik, you're like a weird geek. You date women, you play sports, and you don't care about Star Trek or Wars."

So… long way of saying, I don't care if I see a spoiler or not. I might even seek some out so that I know who is who again. I don't remember the last time I watched a Star Wars movie.

I know, puts me in the minority…

You just wanted everyone to know that.. ha ha.

[nevets88]

3 hours ago, mvmac said:

All of the reviews I've seen so have been very positive, so that's great to see.

The negatives people are saying is that it's too conservative, nothing new.

[iacas]

5 minutes ago, GolfLug said:

You just wanted everyone to know that.. ha ha.

I felt weird writing it, but I'd already written enough, I just figured I'd finish it.

I think I have a pretty decent idea of who most of the main people are.

[Golfingdad]

I dunno ... it's just Star Wars.  (As far as "spoilers" are concerned, I mean.)  It's not an M. Night Shamalangadingdong movie or a murder mystery or something where the whole point is the twist at the end.  With those types of movies, I get it.  If you knew that Bruce Willis was dead from the beginning or knew before she realized it that Clarice was at the wrong house or Hannibal was wearing that dudes face, then, yeah, those movies are going to be a little less interesting the first time through.  But Star Wars?  I still get excited watching some of the old ones for the zillionth time, and I've known whats happening there for 35 years. ;)

Sure, it'll be nice going into it without knowing anything, but I'm not going to alter my life for a week just to ensure that.  It's going to be enjoyable even if somebody waits outside the theater as I'm walking in telling me that Sharon Stones lesbian girlfriend did it. 

[nevets88]

2 hours ago, Golfingdad said:

I dunno ... it's just Star Wars.  (As far as "spoilers" are concerned, I mean.)  It's not an M. Night Shamalangadingdong movie or a murder mystery or something where the whole point is the twist at the end.  With those types of movies, I get it.  If you knew that Bruce Willis was dead from the beginning or knew before she realized it that Clarice was at the wrong house or Hannibal was wearing that dudes face, then, yeah, those movies are going to be a little less interesting the first time through.  But Star Wars?  I still get excited watching some of the old ones for the zillionth time, and I've known whats happening there for 35 years. ;)

Sure, it'll be nice going into it without knowing anything, but I'm not going to alter my life for a week just to ensure that.  It's going to be enjoyable even if somebody waits outside the theater as I'm walking in telling me that Sharon Stones lesbian girlfriend did it. 

I get that and am very spoiler insensitive and will read, watch or listen to reviews with spoilers before watching most movies - it's the journey, the slow unravelling of how it happens rather than what. If one has been following the making of the movie for a year, since the first teaser, it's not a big deal to wait a couple of more days and be genuinely surprised what happens, even though the entire plot details is just a couple of taps away now. If I lived in a country whose release date is next year, I'd know the entire movie by now. Going by all the non spoiler reviews I've read and watched, I think I have a pretty good idea what's going to happen though.

[boogielicious]

Here's a handy guide of the new characters.

http://www.theonion.com/slideshow/guide-characters-force-awakens-52061

 

[nevets88]

A complete guide to the new Star Wars canon before The Force Awakens
 

You don't need this for the movie, but it fills in a lot of blanks of what happened between episode VI and VII. 

Quote

When Disney bought Lucasfilm, the company threw almost every piece of Star Wars lore away. In a flash, literally decades of stories from its expanded universe were nixed from canon — cleaning the slate in order to give director J. J. Abrams freedom to tell a new tale starting moments after Return of the Jedi ended.

But those missing pieces are very quickly being filled by a new Star Wars universe that's equal parts expansive and expensive, costing both time and money to learn everything. The story of Star Wars, for the kind of fan that wants to know everything, is much bigger than the movies, spanning several novels, comic book series, video games, and TV shows.

It's almost impossible to keep track of everything, and for the casual Star Wars fan, none of this is likely necessary to know before going into The Force Awakens. But if you really want to know what's happened in the three decades between the new film and Return of the Jedi's final party scene, we're here to help.

http://www.theverge.com/2015/12/16/10215194/star-wars-the-force-awakens-guide-canon

[Gator Hazard]

Saw this on Facebook, don't think it has been posted yet, pretty funny and a good read.  It has absolutely no spoilers and only deals with what we have seen in episodes 1-6:

5 Reasons The Dark Side Isn't As Bad As You Think

http://www.cracked.com/blog/5-reasons-luke-shouldve-joined-dark-side/

[nevets88]